KINGMAN - The era of horse racing at the Mohave County Fairgrounds came to an end last week, at least for the time being, with the removal of the rails that lined the track.

The Fair Association approved the removal of the track at its Aug. 12 meeting to make way for events such as off-road and monster truck shows.

Fairgrounds manager Erroll Pherigo said it didn't make much sense to keep the rails after funding for the annual horse races was pulled by the Arizona Department of Racing earlier this year.

The event, which normally ran for two consecutive weekends, had been scaled back to one weekend last year and organizers ended up in the red. This year's racing was cancelled back in February.

Pherigo said the outer rails will most likely remain. Volunteers from the association's special events committee volunteered their time Friday to remove enough of the inner rails to make room for several motorized demonstrations that will be presented for free during this year's fair, which runs from Sept. 16-19.

"We're just looking at different things to mix it up and show people what we can do here," Pherigo said.

The city Planning and Zoning Commission is also looking at whether to approve a zoning change at the fairgrounds which would allow the space to host BMX events. The fairgrounds is currently zoned "open space," a designation that does not allow for BMX racing.